Occupational Employment Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, March 30, 2016 USDL-16-0661
Technical information: (202) 691-6569 * oesinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/oes
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES -- MAY 2015
Healthcare occupations had employment of 12 million in May 2015, representing nearly
9 percent of total national employment, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Registered nurses, with more than 2.7 million jobs, was the largest healthcare
occupation. The largest healthcare occupations also included nursing assistants (1.4
million), home health aides (820,630), and licensed practical and licensed vocational
nurses (697,250).
The data in this news release are the May 2015 employment and wage estimates from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. These
estimates cover over 800 occupations for the nation, states, and nearly 600 metropolitan
and nonmetropolitan areas; and for more than 460 industry classifications at the national
level.
Some healthcare occupations were among the highest paying occupations overall, including
several physician and dentist occupations. Nurse anesthetists, with an annual mean wage
of $160,250; podiatrists ($136,180); and pharmacists ($119,270) also were among the
highest paying healthcare occupations. The lowest paying healthcare occupations included
home health aides ($22,870) and veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers
($25,940). National employment and wage information for all occupations is shown in
table 1.
Highlights from the May 2015 OES data:
Production occupations
--Production occupations had total employment of nearly 9.1 million and an annual
mean wage of $36,220 across all industries. (See table 1.) Among manufacturing
industries, the pay for these occupations varied widely.
--Manufacturing industries with the highest wages for production occupations
included petroleum and coal products manufacturing ($62,140) and basic chemical
manufacturing ($55,230).
--Manufacturing industries with the lowest wages for production occupations
included seafood product preparation and packaging ($25,860), animal
slaughtering and processing ($27,460), and several apparel, textile, and
leather products industries.
--Production occupations made up 6.6 percent of national employment, but over
11 percent of employment in Wisconsin and nearly 13 percent of employment in
Indiana.
--Production occupations made up 35 percent of employment in Elkhart-Goshen, Ind.,
the highest employment share of any metropolitan area. Dalton, Ga.; Columbus,
Ind.; and Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C., also were among the metropolitan areas
with the highest shares of production occupations.
OES national industry-specific data are available from www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrci.htm.
OES data by state and metropolitan/nonmetropolitan area are available from
www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcst.htm and www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm,
respectively.
Construction and extraction occupations
--Construction and extraction occupations had employment of 5.5 million, representing
nearly 4 percent of national employment. (See table 1.)
--Construction laborers (887,580), carpenters (639,190), and electricians (592,230)
were the largest construction occupations. (See table 1.)
--States with the highest concentrations of construction and extraction occupations
included Wyoming and North Dakota, which each had nearly three times as many
construction and extraction jobs as a share of total employment than the United
States as a whole.
--Metropolitan areas with the highest concentrations of construction and extraction
occupations included several areas in Texas; Farmington, N.M.; and Greeley, Colo.
Typical entry-level education
--Sixty-four percent of employment was in occupations that typically require either
a high school diploma or equivalent or no formal educational credential for entry,
such as retail sales occupations, general office clerks, and customer service
representatives.
--Occupations typically requiring a bachelor's degree for entry made up 21 percent
of national employment, but nearly 42 percent of employment in the District of
Columbia and over 26 percent of employment in Massachusetts.
--States with the lowest shares of occupations typically requiring a bachelor's
degree for entry included Nevada (15 percent) and North Dakota (16 percent).
--Average wages were generally higher for occupations that require more education.
Annual mean wages were $25,000 for occupations that typically require no formal
educational credential for entry, $41,730 for occupations typically requiring
high school or the equivalent, and $53,730 for occupations typically requiring
an associate's degree.
--The annual mean wage for occupations that typically require a bachelor's degree
for entry was $82,260 nationally, but varied from $60,240 in Montana to $104,840
in the District of Columbia.
Additional charts of employment and wages by typical entry-level educational requirement
are available at www.bls.gov/oes/current/overview_2015.htm.
STEM occupations
--There were nearly 8.6 million science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) jobs representing 6.2 percent of total U.S. employment.
--Seven of the 10 largest STEM occupations were related to computers, and included
applications software developers (747,730) and computer user support specialists
(585,060). (See table 1.)
--Areas with the highest employment shares of STEM occupations included California-
Lexington Park, Md. (nearly 23 percent of employment), and San Jose-Sunnyvale-
Santa Clara, Calif. (22 percent).
--STEM occupations were less prevalent (approximately 1 percent of employment) in
Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas; Gadsden, Ala.; and Ocean City, N.J.
--STEM occupations had an annual mean wage of $87,570, compared with $45,700 for
non-STEM occupations. Ninety-three of the 100 STEM occupations had mean wages
significantly above the all-occupations average of $48,320. (See table 1.)
--The highest paying STEM occupations included petroleum engineers ($149,590),
physicists ($118,500), and the three STEM-related management occupations. (See
table 1.)
--The lowest paying STEM occupations included forest and conservation technicians
($38,260) and agricultural and food science technicians ($39,000). (See table 1.)
Additional STEM charts are available at www.bls.gov/oes/current/overview_2015.htm.
Largest occupations
--The largest occupations overall were retail salespersons (4.6 million) and
cashiers (3.5 million). Retail salespersons also was the largest occupation in
36 of the 50 states. (See table 1.)
--The largest occupations nationally also included combined food preparation and
serving workers (3.2 million), general office clerks (2.9 million), registered
nurses (2.7 million), and customer service representatives (2.6 million). (See
table 1.)
--Most of the largest occupations were relatively low paying. For example, retail
salespersons ($26,340), cashiers ($20,990), and combined food preparation and
serving workers ($19,710) all had annual mean wages significantly below the
all-occupations average. (See table 1.)
--Registered nurses was the largest occupation with an above-average wage
($71,000). (See table 1.)
Public sector occupations
--The public sector made up nearly 16 percent of employment and had a different
occupational mix from the private sector.
--Many of the largest public sector occupations were related to education,
including elementary school teachers, except special education (public sector
employment of 1.2 million); teacher assistants (956,850); and secondary school
teachers, except special and career/technical education (847,520).
--Police and sheriff's patrol officers (647,880), general office clerks (521,180),
and correctional officers and jailers (407,050) also were among the occupations
with the highest public sector employment.
OES data by ownership are available from www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrci.htm.
More information
The Occupational Employment Statistics program produces employment and wage estimates for
over 800 occupations for all industries combined in the nation; the 50 states and the
District of Columbia; 432 metropolitan areas and divisions; 167 nonmetropolitan areas;
and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National estimates are also available
by industry for NAICS sectors, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industries, and by
ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. Additional OES data are
available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.
This release contains data on STEM occupations. A list of occupations included in the
STEM definition used for this release is available at www.bls.gov/oes/stem_list.xlsx.
Data on employment by the typical education level required to enter an occupation are
based on education and training categories from the BLS Employment Projections program.
Education and training levels assigned to each occupation are available at
www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_112.htm.
______________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Introduction of New Metropolitan Area Definitions |
| |
|With the issuance of data for May 2015, the OES program has incorporated redefined |
|metropolitan area definitions as designated by the Office of Management and Budget. |
|OES data are available for 394 metropolitan areas, 38 metropolitan divisions, and 167 |
|OES-defined nonmetropolitan areas. A listing of the areas and their definitions can be|
|found at www.bls.gov/oes/current/msa_def.htm. |
|______________________________________________________________________________________|

Technical Note
Scope of the survey
The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey
measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in
nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OES data available from BLS
include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation;
over 650 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan
statistical areas (MSAs), metropolitan divisions, nonmetropolitan areas, and
territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-, 4-,
and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels; and national estimates by ownership
across all industries and for schools and hospitals.
The OES survey is a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce
Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical
support, while the State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data. OES
estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments.
Each year, forms are mailed to two semiannual panels of approximately 200,000
sampled establishments, one panel in May and the other in November. The May 2015
estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a
3-year period: May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, and
November 2012. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on
the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 73.5 percent based on establishments
and 69.6 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment
of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately
57.9 percent of total national employment. (Response rates are slightly lower for
these estimates due to the federal shutdown in October 2013.)
The occupational coding system
The OES survey categorizes workers into 821 detailed occupations based on the Office
of Management and Budget's 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system.
Together, these detailed occupations make up 22 of the 23 SOC major occupational
groups. Major group 55, Military Specific Occupations, is not included.
For more information about the SOC system, please see the BLS website at
www.bls.gov/soc/.
The industry coding system
The May 2015 OES estimates use the 2012 North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS). For more information about NAICS, see the BLS website at
www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.
The OES survey excludes the majority of the agricultural sector, with the exception
of logging (NAICS 113310), support activities for crop production (NAICS 1151),
and support activities for animal production (NAICS 1152).Private households (NAICS 814)
also are excluded. OES federal government data include the U.S. Postal Service and the
federal executive branch only. All other industries, including state and local government,
are covered by the survey.
Survey sample
The OES survey draws its sample from state unemployment insurance (UI) files.
Supplemental sources are used for rail transportation (NAICS 4821) and Guam
because they do not report to the UI program. The OES survey sample is stratified
by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area, industry, and size.
To provide the most occupational coverage, larger employers are more likely to be
selected than smaller employers. A census is taken of the executive branch of the
federal government, the U.S. Postal Service, and state government.
Concepts
Occupational employment is the estimate of total wage and salary employment in an
occupation. The OES survey defines employment as the number of workers who can be
classified as full- or part-time employees, including workers on paid vacations or
other types of paid leave; workers on unpaid short-term absences; salaried officers,
executives, and staff members of incorporated firms; employees temporarily assigned
to other units; and employees for whom the reporting unit is their permanent duty
station, regardless of whether that unit prepares their paycheck. The survey does not
include the self-employed, owners and partners in unincorporated firms, household
workers, or unpaid family workers.
Wages for the OES survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base
rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay,
including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are
overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost
for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.
OES receives wage rate data for the federal government, the U.S. Postal Service, and
most state governments. For the remaining establishments, the OES survey collects
wage data in 12 intervals. For each occupation, respondents are asked to report the
number of employees paid within specific wage intervals. The intervals are defined
both as hourly rates and the corresponding annual rates, where the annual rate for an
occupation is calculated by multiplying the hourly wage rate by a typical work year of
2,080 hours. The responding establishments are instructed to report the hourly rate
for part-time workers, and to report annual rates for occupations that are typically
paid at an annual rate but do not work 2,080 hours per year, such as teachers, pilots,
and flight attendants. Other workers, such as some entertainment workers, are paid
hourly rates, but generally do not work 40 hours per week, year round. For these
workers, only an hourly wage is reported.
Estimation methodology
The OES survey is designed to produce estimates by combining six panels of data collected
over a 3-year period. Each OES panel includes approximately 200,000 establishments. The
full six-panel sample of nearly 1.2 million establishments allows the production of
estimates at detailed levels of geography, industry, and occupation.
Wage updating. Significant reductions in sampling errors are obtained by combining six
panels of data, particularly for small geographic areas and occupations. Wages for the
current panel need no adjustment. However, wages in the five previous panels need to be
updated to the current panel's reference period.
The OES program uses the BLS Employment Cost Index (ECI) to adjust survey data from prior
panels before combining them with the current panel's data. The wage updating procedure
adjusts each detailed occupation's wage rate, as measured in the earlier panel, according
to the average movement of its broader occupational division.
Imputation. About 25 percent of establishments do not respond for a given panel. For most
employers, a "nearest neighbor" hot deck imputation procedure is used to impute missing
occupational employment totals. A variant of mean imputation is used to impute missing
wage distributions. In some cases, data for current panel nonrespondents are available
from earlier panels. In those cases, the older data may be used and aged to represent
the current reference period.
Weighting and benchmarking. The sampled establishments are weighted to represent all
establishments for the reference period. Weights are further adjusted by the ratio of
employment totals (the average of November 2014 and May 2015 employment) from the BLS
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages to employment totals from the OES survey.
Changes and special procedures for the May 2015 estimates
With the issuance of data for May 2015, the OES program has incorporated redefined
metropolitan area definitions as designated by the Office of Management and Budget.
OES data are available for 394 metropolitan areas, 38 metropolitan divisions, and 167
OES-defined nonmetropolitan areas. A listing of the areas and their definitions can be
found at www.bls.gov/oes/current/msa_def.htm.
The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program, from which the OES sample is
drawn, has recently begun coding some establishments that were historically found in
NAICS 814110 Private Households to NAICS 624120 Services for the Elderly and Persons
with Disabilities. Private households are out of scope for OES, so this shift caused a
scope increase for OES in NAICS 624120. Because this scope increase affected only the
three most recent of the six survey panels used to produce the May 2015 OES estimates,
the units that shifted industries were removed from the survey data and not used in estimation.
For more information
Answers to frequently asked questions about the OES data are available at
www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed technical information about the OES survey
is available in the Survey Methods and Reliability Statement on the BLS website at
www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf.